Glamor Shot
by CodeLyoko
Summary: Being able to work in the field that you love was always exciting. For Gou, it had been a dream come true to be a photographer. However, there were always a few setbacks with models every now and then. One just so happened to get sick last minute and someone had to step up to fill in the role. He just couldn't decide if he hated or liked him.
1. All About That Purple Leather

I swear I am working on my other fics! I swear! I blame this on my friend, whom this is dedicated to, because he gave me this idea originally for Roidmude's Life as a drabble... I saw it more as an AU and my brain and feels ran with it. Yes, there are hints of possible Gou/Chase, but not enough to really pin it as the pairing. I may come back and edit this when I feel like it, add more to it and make it more cohesive.

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She was late…

The White Goddess, as she was called in the modeling world, was known to be late at times, yet her reputation as one of the best female models and her outstanding presence in the photos from shoots kept her in business. He had worked with her once before; the shots he had gotten were beyond astounding, especially when her boyfriend, stage named Heart, had been in the second photoshoot that day. The way they played off each other so well – even when the two first met two years ago in a group shoot – it made getting the perfect shot too easy.

Fiddling with his camera, he hunched over even more on the couch in the back, lips turned down. Even with those good experiences, it didn't damper the fact that yes, she was _late_. Again, she was known for it, but it was well over an hour, which was unusual even for her. Pulling his knees up and rocking back to curl into the soft cushions, he lazily watched the other members of his agency rush around, makeup artists whispering to each other, his boss frowning and talking to someone on his phone.

Probably the Goddess' agent. What was her actual name again? She barely ever told anyone it, even those she worked for. Yawning, he figured he could take a short nap. It was rather warm in the building, perfect for him to get comfortable and drift off.

"… sick?"

"She's in the hospital!" Whispers woke Gou up from his short nap. Hospital? What was everyone talking about? Narrowing his eyes, the photographer leaned over the side of the couch, staring quite intently at the group of hair stylists who were trying their best to keep their conversation quiet.

"Yeah, the boss said she fell very ill and was rushed to the hospital." She got sick? Normally she was the picture of health, and to be rushed to the hospital meant they weren't kidding around… Was the shoot going to be canceled? Their voices dropped so low as his boss circulated the room, looking rather worried and glancing at his phone every now and then. They were going to send someone else… right? Otherwise this would have been a waste of time for everyone. Grumbling to himself, he closed his eyes once more.

All he could do was wait…

"Sorry I took so long, I brought the person I told you about over the phone." The sound of his sister kicked him back into the real world, eyes snapping open. Wait, when had his sister gotten there? His mind backtracked again… His boss and his sister knew each other? Since when? Suspiciously, Gou's eyes traveled over the crowd of people until they found Kiriko. She had the biggest smile on her face, something he had been seeing more often since she met Shin-nii-san. Who was this new person? Probably a newbie from the same agency, a girl who was fresh out of their training. He sighed and sat up properly.

This was gonna suck, newbies tended to still be awkward and shy despite the difficult training.

"Ah, Miss. Shijima, Where are they?" Gou was tempted to get up and walk over to his sister, but when his boss met her halfway from the door, he sat back and listened.

"He's outside, he came on his motorcycle when Heart and their agent explained the circumstance." Wait… All attention he had on their conversation dropped at that one word. He? It was a male model? They originally had asked for one, yet his boss said in passing that only the Goddess had been available. If this was from the same company, then who…?

The door opened and the flurry of movement within the building stilled, everyone dropping what they were doing to get a glimpse at who they would be working with during the shoot. Craning his neck as he stood up, Gou nearly fell over at what he saw.

Fuck.

Of course the first thing he had noticed had been that purple leather outfit. _Leather_. Was it a rule that all of the men from that agency had to wear leather? First Heart with the red kind, now this guy. Though honestly it was stylish and definitely was his color. The second thing he had been drawn to was his eyes. They were emotionless, something that immediately made Gou despise him on the spot. It was one thing to be good at modeling, but if one could not convey emotions, then a picture that would have been perfect was meaningless.

Emotions were always the key to what made pictures beautiful, no matter how gorgeous the model was.

Unbidden, his lips pulled back in a grimace. Gou sat back down on the couch, glaring in the direction of the model. As the still unnamed man introduced himself to his boss, Gou sized him up. If anything, they'd have to use what he was wearing, all the outfits they had had were dresses. Although he still couldn't get over the fact that the other also had leather, he grudgingly admitted that it would work with the motorcycle shoot. It still had baffled him before that they were so close to trying to shoot the motorcycle advertisements with a female, but the company had said it would have produced more sales. An annoyed tsk sound escaped his lips.

"Lighten up Gou." He couldn't respond as someone's fingers pulled his lips up into a crude smile. He sighed to the best of his ability, rolling his eyes upwards. Correction - that someone had been his sister… who somehow snuck up behind him while he had been adamantly staring at the new model. Withdrawing her fingers, she sat down next to him. Giving a grunt as his only answer, he half-glared at her for an idea for payback struck him.

"I never thought I'd see you bring a man with leather to see me." Changing his tone to mocking being hurt, he pulled sad eyes on his sister. The reaction he got was exactly what he had wanted to get. Kiriko instantly became flustered, waving her hand in front of her face as her cheeks reddened.

"W-what are you talking about? Gou! It's not like that." she complained, glancing away and chewing on her bottom lip. Gou scooted closer to her with a sly smirk, leaning against her shoulder.

"There, there nee-san, we all know you prefer Shin-nii-san~ although I can't imagine him being into wearing leather." The nail had been hammered in. Kiriko stood up, causing her brother to topple over onto the couch. Holding in the overwhelming laughter was difficult in the presence of his coworkers, yet he somehow managed to. It never got old teasing both her and Shinnosuke about the other. Now if they simply confessed to each other and got together already, geez them and beating around the bush. They took that to a whole new level… Watching her walk away, and rubbing his shoulder at the sudden play-smack he received for his teasing, Gou shook his head. She would get over it; she knew his teasing was in good fun, although she hated to admit it.

Making sure his camera was set up, it had taken the model no time at all to get ready. He had been right, his boss loved the model's attire and his hair only had to be messed with to remove the windswept look. A few minutes were allowed for the man to get comfortable with the motorcycle that had borrowed from the company they were shooting for. Gou didn't pay attention, instead he was already thinking of what he could have for dinner that night.

This was going to be boring, wasn't it? Resigning himself to taking pictures of this man who seemed to be completely stoic, he raised the camera when the murmuring from everyone hushed into silence, a signal that the shoot was about to begin. The demeanor of the man changed in a split second.

Those eyes that had once been completely devoid of any emotion at all became heated and challenging. Even with no expression on his face, the man's eyes told the world everything they needed to see. To say his heart had stuttered with the intensity of his gaze was an understatement; he hadn't even pressed the button on his camera yet. All he could do was glance up from his camera's screen, struggling to keep his face neutral. Fuck what he thought before about this model being bad.

Their eyes met and Gou swore, his heart didn't just stutter this time, his heart had goddamn _stopped_. Sure he had met plenty of models who had wonderful emotions that were conveyed in both their facial expressions and their eyes, but never, _never_ , had anyone come close to this man. The lack of emotion on his face helped intensify his eyes, and the way he held his body only contributed to his presence, confident and commanding of attention. The best thing was, he looked like he was barely trying.

Why the hell had they not gotten this guy sooner?

A tap on his shoulder brought him back and he hesitantly looked up at the owner of the hand. Shit, it was his boss, Krim.

"Less staring, more picture taking." He muttered into Gou's ear. Cheeks burning red, he mumbled an apology and turned back to the model, only to see him tilt his head slightly in response. Damn, so his stare had been quite noticeable. Raising his camera again, he adjusted the angle and hit the button.

He could practically feel his sister's smirk burrowing into the back of his head… Damn you Kiriko… Why did he have a feeling his boss was in on this too?


	2. Grim Reaper and Memories

My apologies everyone! This chapter and two other fics were meant to be released on Christmas, then on New Year's but I was swamped with work and various other real life incidents. I only hope you can forgive me by enjoying these. I even upped this three chapter fic to four chapters! This is very unedited, yet I find it hilarious that it is exactly 2016 words, perfect for this new year.

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There was no way Gou was curious about that model from a few days ago.

He also wasn't scouring the internet for some information of him or pictures that showed glimpses of him in them … No amount of trying to convince himself otherwise wasn't working. Pausing in his more or less fruitless task, Gou leaned back in his chair to look at the only wall that Kiriko had allowed him to cover in photographs of his favorite shots. Many of them were from past shoots where his boss sent him a few copies, others were from his freelance time of landscapes, and the rest were his sister and him… and Shin-nii-san too of course.

Eyes drifted down to land on the copies Kiriko just dropped off on the desk nearby. That model stared back at him, a powerful presence that paired perfectly well with the black motorcycle that he was riding… The motorcycle that he had been practically straddling, and oh dear god his mind was not going to go there at all. Gou could practically feel his sister's eyes boring into his skull and he shifted in his seat, refusing to glance over towards where she was sitting comfortably in a recliner nearby.

"You should know it was only his fourth shoot. He really suits his stage name, doesn't he?"

"Stage name?" Gou paused, fingers half-way raised in an attempt to restart his search while his brain connected the dots. Movement caught the corner of his eye and as he turned to look, he found his sister \standing beside his chair. Crap, he had forgotten that it was a rule…

"Oh!" Kiriko's eyes widened with the realization that she had forgotten to tell her dear brother his stage name, which would have been the only way to find him on the internet, seeing as his real name was never used in the public eye, just like The White Goddess and Heart. A quick check on what Gou was searching for via his search bar only made it quite clear he had forgotten that rule. However she couldn't fault him for it; the company only now had given him his name in a public meet and greet just a few days ago.

"He's known as the Shinigami, the Grim Reaper."

Grim Reaper? As quickly as he could, the boy's fingers darted across the keyboard and hit enter. Immediately pictures began to pop up as well as articles and the very few magazines they were in. There was one that had captured his attention. Its mysterious nature and dark atmosphere made all of the others look pale in comparison. So drawn he was into it, and rather jealous it hadn't been him that had gotten the shot, he only dimly heard his sister point it out and say it was her favorite, as well as the first shot ever released to the public.

Damn…

The photo was darkly lit with an atmospheric setting such as a low-hanging tree with smoke around its base. Yet the thing that popped out, other than the small child crying over a grave was there in the background. A figure was leaning down as if to help the child up; it was easy to see it was the model himself. His face could be seen underneath the loose cloak he wore, and the clothes underneath looked so intricate yet ancient and otherworldly. It was perfect. Even though his eyes were cast downwards, there was a softness to them, something that pulled at his heart.

It was small details like this that made the shots perfect.

"You're jealous." His sister's voice brought him out of his daze with a start. Glaring up at her, he stuttered a no and crossed his arms over his chest, sinking into the chair as she chuckled. It was obvious she could see through his poor defense. The way his eyes kept flickering up to roam over the picture again and again was also a clear clue on where his thoughts lay. She leaned back on her heels, simply observing her brother.

It had been interesting to see the way he would react when Chase – Kiriko almost giggled at the fact she knew his actual name – had offered to fill in for the sick model once his agency gave him the confirmation. From a look of annoyance to sudden jaw-dropping awe, it was such a quick 180 turn. Kiriko lowered one finger to poke her brother's cheek, earning her the reaction of him nearly falling out of the seat in order to dodge her next one.

"Oi!" Gou protested, a frown tilting his lips downwards as his fingers tightened on the edge of the chair to prevent himself from falling. Him, jealous? Okay… He would never admit it to her face, but yes, he was jealous. Any photographer would be jealous of a work that is so perfect. Sure, Gou had snapped some amazing ones himself, but he always kept pushing himself to get better. Photography with his passion after all. His sister chuckled at his expressions before she straightened up, an idea beginning to form in her mind. Excusing herself with a rather bright smile that, to Gou, looked very suspicious, Kiriko walked out of the room.

"What are you planning, sis?" the photographer murmured, nibbling on his lower lip uncertainly. Whenever he saw that particular smile, it never boded well for him at all. Following after her wouldn't get him anywhere, and when her door clicked shut across the hall, he knew whatever was being planned would end up sneaking up on him when he least expected it. With a sigh, Gou resolved to settle back down in his chair, pulling his signature white jacket closer around his chest.

The pictures stared back at him, nearly all of them otherworldly in nature. It reminded him of how the company made each of their models famous, something that made them quite famous to begin with as well as being versatile on having models for every occasion. Each of the executives worked one on one with the models when they were hired. Their stage names came from their first shoots that were released to the public. Gou wasn't too familiar with the details, but it had something to do with their personalities and how they held themselves.

Heart had been the first to receive his stage name that he knew of. His personality was heartwarming, which is where the name came from, and the fact he considers everyone around him a friend. His shoots were suited to happy ones, especially ones centering around family or friends. The White Goddess was almost always in white, although there had been instances where she wore black whenever the clothing designer wished it. Hers were more romantic in style, which left him wondering why they had picked her for the motorcycle shoot.

Perhaps it was to show that women were also interested in the product? It would please the audience, especially the female buyers… As his eyes roamed over the pictures again, he recalled another model from the agency. It wasn't one he had worked with personally yet, Brain. From the few pictures he had seen from him he figured he was more intellectually based with shoots, a favorite with business advertisements and technology.

That left this Grim Reaper… Gou's eyebrows furrowed as he studied a close up of the man. He did suit the stage name they picked out for him, he had the looks for it too. It seemed his color theme was purple, similar to Heart's being red and the Goddess' being white – as well as that Brain guy having green. Honestly he would have expected black, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to not go towards the cliché grim reaper in a black cloak that everyone always envisioned.

All of a sudden he sighed, burying his head in his hands. That left the purple getup, which seemed to always lurk in the back of his mind. Why? Why that purple leather? Grumbling to himself, he pushed his laptop back and laid his head on the cool wooden desk. It wasn't like he didn't like leather - it wasn't something he would wear - it was the fact that it looked so damn good on that model. The Grim Reaper… He mumbled it to himself in a whisper, trying out the stage name. Obviously they would shorten it to Reaper, but still it was a mouthful. Pity they never could figure out their real names.

A shrill noise startled him, Gou landing on the ground and his face stinging from the sudden impact. The photographer inhaled deeply as he stared at the wall on the other side of the room, contemplating exactly why it had startled him in the first place to the point of him falling flat on his face. The sound continued to ring above, reminding him to change the ringtone to something other than the annoying default ringtone built into the phone. The thought of it possibly being a text from either his manager or someone else important, even Shin-nii-san, was enough for Gou to sit up where he had fallen and reach for the offending piece of technology.

Oh, it was just an alert… It was all too tempting to give into the desire to mash the 'end alert' again and again but he squashed it so he could read what was printed on the screen.

 _Alarm Reminder: Sunset in 30 minutes._

Sunset in half an hour? For a second he mulled over the strange reminder before his eyes widened and shut the alarm off. Sunset! He didn't have much time to make it! Gou sprang to his feet and only took a moment to look at a collection of pictures haphazardly thrown on his desk, the very reason why he kept setting alarms every day. They were of the same place at sunset, different clouds clinging to the air as the setting sun's light washed over them. Gorgeous colors of red and blue, purple and orange all mixed into a beautiful canvas of nature's design, one that was never repeated. It was one of his favorite things to photograph on his off days.

He knew the place well, a rarely traveled path overlooking a lake with mountains in the distance. Kiriko and he had gone there many times with their mother, always ones to explore their grandparent's house and the forests beyond back in the days. Even to this day, he wanted to capture the timelessness that was lost in the city. The city was different than the sparse locations where forests and mountains dominated rather than buildings and people. There were railings that guarded pedestrians against falling down the steep cliff, he remembered scaring his mother and sister when he balanced on top of it, smiling as if it was a simple task.

Just the thought of that brought a warm smile to his lips, eyes softening and replaying the memory he cherished so dearly. He would have taken a picture of himself in front of it, but he wanted it to be natural, not staged, and there was rarely anyone who walked that way anymore… Even his sister agreed that it should be someone who happened to be there. However she did always loved his pictures and thought all of them were amazing, but she didn't understand the obsession, the need to have that perfect shot that he was unable to capture since the one he took of Mount Fuji!

With a jolt, Gou looked at the time again and nearly sputtered. He just spent five minutes strolling through memory lane! Grabbing his pack and camera, and shoving his feet into his shoes, Gou yelled out a goodbye to his sister before he raced out of the house. If he was late in catching the subway over to the station, he would miss the small amount of time available to take some test pictures. For his mother and grandparents, Gou prayed he could make it.


End file.
